Meet our team

Director

Senior Speech Pathologist

 Sarah is the heart behind Embolden Kids — a paediatric speech pathologist with a lifelong passion for supporting children to grow, communicate, and flourish in ways that feel true to who they are. Her mission has always been simple: to help children and families thrive, achieve their goals, and have fun along the way.

Since completing her Speech Pathology degree in 2006, Sarah has worked across public and private paediatric services both in Australia and overseas. She has supported countless children with speech, language, literacy, and fluency needs, and she brings deep experience in working with autistic children and children with a range of disabilities. Her commitment to family-centred, child-led care has also shaped her role as a clinical educator for Curtin University’s Speech Pathology program, where she has mentored emerging therapists.

Sarah holds certification as a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist (CPSP) and is trained in several leading approaches, including the Hanen It Takes Two to Talk program for late talkers, the Lidcombe Program for children who stutter, and Social Emotional Acuity Bridge. She is deeply committed to neurodiversity-affirming practice and continuous professional growth.

Embolden Kids was born from Sarah’s vision to create a service that truly goes the distance for families — a place where every child’s strengths are celebrated, every family feels supported, and therapy unfolds through connection, respect, and quality care. As a parent of a child with a disability, Sarah understands firsthand the complexities, emotions, and hopes that weave through a family’s therapy journey. That lived experience informs every aspect of her work, offering families not just expertise, but empathy, clarity, and a sense of not being alone.

Sarah also dreamed of building a team who feel like family — clinicians who are supported, valued, and encouraged to deliver the kind of care that makes a lasting difference for children and their communities.

Today, Sarah leads Embolden Kids with heart, humility, and unwavering dedication. She is honoured to walk alongside courageous kids and the families who love them, helping each child find their voice — in whatever way it sounds, signs, or shows up.

Speech Pathologist

Francesco graduated from Curtin University with a Master of Speech Pathology, and

a Bachelor in Pre-clinical Human Biology.

Francesco brings a wide range of training experience, having completed formal

training in the administration of the ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation

Schedule – 2 nd Edition), allowing him to deliver comprehensive autism assessment

as part of a multidisciplinary team.

In addition, Francesco has also completed training in both the Sounds-Write and

Word-Origins programs, which help to support children to develop their literacy skills

across reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary and reading comprehension. His clinical

practice is further supported by formal training in Key Word Sign, equipping him to

effectively implement signing and visual supports into his therapy sessions to

improve understanding and expressive communication, particularly for those children

with complex communication needs.

Francesco believes in a holistic and client centred approach to therapy, working

collaboratively with both families and their child to ensure that goals are meaningful,

relevant, and tailored for their individual strengths and needs. He has an interest in

supporting school aged children with their early literacy skills, speech sounds,

stuttering/fluency, and receptive and expressive language.

With experience working in the public sector, Francesco has worked in school

settings delivering individual and group speech therapy sessions, and providing

collaborative support to educators. He brings a strong understanding of how

communication difficulties can impact a child’s ability to socialise and learn, and is

dedicated to helping children build the skills and confidence they need to

successfully participate socially and academically. His volunteer experience in

working with children with diverse difficulties has enriched his clinical practice, and

further reflects his dedication to an inclusive strengths based approach to therapy.

Speech Pathologist 

 Ebony is a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist who graduated from Curtin University. Ebony has had experience working in the disability sector and in schools with children who have Developmental Language Disorder.

Ebony has been trained in the Sounds Write program (helping students to read, write and spell) and Talk for Writing.

Ebony has a passion for working with children and their families who face challenges with language, speech and literacy. Ebony’s approach to therapy is to ensure parents and carers feel empowered in their role to help their children, while her deep understanding of communication difficulties help children overcome obstacles and find their voice.

Ebony hopes to help your child unlock their potential and help them thrive.